Lauryn Hill has been charged with failing to pay tax on more than $1.8m (£1.17m).

The former Fugees singer allegedly failed to file tax returns to the US internal revenue service between 2005 and 2007. Hill now has to appear in court in Newark, New Jersey, to face charges on three counts of evading tax payments. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail plus a $100,000 fine.

Although the 37-year-old singer has been famously inactive musically, she earned the money largely from music and film royalties. She also owns and operates four different companies: Creations Music, Boogie Tours, LH Productions 2001 and Studio 22. She was charged by the US Department of Justice on Thursday.

It was all going so well for Hill, who is staging a comeback. Her 14-years-in-the-making second studio album The Return is due for release later this year. Details of the album remain sketchy, although she has been playing new song Fearless Vampire Killer live. Of her follow-up to her 1996 album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she has said: "There are a lot of different creative energies out there right now. I respect the different sounds that I'm hearing. It's been such a long time since I've gotten my voice and my ideas out … I'm happy that people are still making music. That we still have a platform with which to make music. It's gonna be interesting to see what the future holds."